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The Edmonton Oilers greatest legend of the past took a glimpse into the future Saturday night at Rexall Place.

Wayne Gretzky, who was in Edmonton for the Legends Experience gala Friday, stuck around an extra night to watch the Oilers take on the Calgary Flames in an exhibition contest.

With both Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the lineup for the Oilers, Gretzky got an opportunity to see the cornerstones of the team’s rebuilding project.

“It’s exciting to see,” Gretzky said. “From one point of view for Taylor, when I played, we played 14, 15 exhibition games and I really enjoyed playing every night. A lot of times you get really good players in their second year and they get lackadaisical, but he’s playing hard and you can tell he’s excited about being an NHL player.

“For Ryan, he’s a young boy that is only going to get better each and every game. He’s got really good help and guidance in that Taylor has been under the microscope for a long time.”

Having started his Hall-of-Fame career in similar circumstances, Gretzky, who said he did not have any immediate plans to get back into the NHL, had some advice for the club’s two top prospects.

“Your commitment, if your commitment is everything that it can be, then that’s all you can ask for,” he said. “It’s really hard to win. There are 30 organizations that want to win, so it’s hard to win. Don’t cheat yourself, be the best you can be each and every day, be the best you can be each and every game. You’re going to have bad games, everyone has off nights, but you can work hard every practice and you can work hard every game.

“If they give that commitment, then they’ll be successful because they have the ability and the talent and they’re going to have the opportunity, because ownership is going to give them the opportunity to become a champion. From their point of view, all they have to do is make the biggest commitment they can make.”

Hall, Nugent-Hopkins and company are attempting to restore some of the glory that Gretzky and his group brought to the club.

It’s a process that started with the Oilers hitting rock bottom, finishing last in the league standings the past two years.

“For young guys to come into this city, it’s probably the best city to come to, because the fans are patient,” Gretzky said. “They dealt with myself, (Mark) Messier and (Jari) Kurri at a young age and know as well as anyone that Hall of Famers don’t happen over night, it takes a period of time. They’re in the right scenario and have good management and coaching staff that are going to be patient with them and yet be hard on them, which you have to be especially at a young age.”